Thinking of you…

 

My friend’s dad recently passed away. Such sad news, even though it was expected, it’s still just awful for him. Sympathy cards are always toughies. My rule; make them simple and not with too much…well not too much anything really.

I totally feel a sympathy card should always be more about the words said on the inside, rather than too much fanciness on the outside. These cards are going to be treasured for the thoughts you write inside rather than how pretty the outside is!

That doesn’t mean they can’t portray your personality, I just think it’s an occasion when it needs toning down a smidge…

Hope you like it!

How I store my Dies

I thought I’d do you a very quick video below showing you how I store my dies in my craft room. I use lots of different brands of dies; die-namics, Cuttlebug/Provocraft, Nestabilities, store brand dies etc, and a lot of them have several dies in each set – and some are quite small and easily lost. So I store all of mine in empty cd cases, using magnetic self-adhesive sheets to hold the dies in place. Then I can see exactly what’s where, and clearly identify missing ones that I’ve left lying around my craft area (tut-tut, Wendy!) and need finding immediately before they accidently get binned!

BLOG CANDY {Giveaway} - One Year in Video Blogging

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR THE WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

This project marks my first anniversary in video blogging!

So to celebrate I am giving away the project I have created to one lucky winner, and also one set of the digital files & stamps I used to make it to another winner.

To enter the competition, please leave a comment in the following places:
{1} under the video entry at YouTube
{2} on the video post at MyGrafico.com
and
{3} comment on this blog entry.
To improve your chances of winning, you may enter three times by leaving one comment at each  site!




If you can’t wait until the draw date, you can purchase the sets by Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff from MyGrafico by clicking on these links:
Recipe Cards & Folio SVG files (for Cricut)
Recipe Cards Digital Stamp set

Good luck!

Rules: You can enter 3 times by commenting on each site (here at my blog, YouTube and MyGrafico) To make this fair, please submit only one comment per person per site – all comments will be checked =) International entries welcome

The closing date is midnight (GMT) on Saturday 27th February. 

The video is below as usual. Don’t forget to subscribe over at my YT Channel and to follow my blog to see my future projects and video tutorials =)

Good Old Grandad!

I had done a video for this card…but it’s never made it to the editing stage. But I figured I can’t make a video for every card I create – there’s just not enough time! So I will just talk you through what I did instead.


This area of the card has been embossed with a cuttlebug folder, but I added a twist. Before placing the patterned paper into the folder, I rubbed one side of the folder with some versamark ink. This ensured that all of the none embossed bits (i.e. not the raised stuff) got inked, meaning that when I took it out of the cuttlebug I could hit it with some clear e.p and heat emboss it. The overall effect was that the depressed bits looked almost wet where the e.p had ‘pooled’. You could increase this effect by using UTEE.

I then cut this to size, added another contrasting piece of patterned paper from the same paper stack and stuck to the base card, inking in orange around the top patterned paper. I tied a thick piece of ribbon around the join and tied it off the edge of the card using string.
The sentiment was a combination of chipboard letters and white gel pen handwriting on card cut using the Labels1 Nestibilities dies, adhered to another slightly larger label from the same set and mounted onto the card using 3d foam stickers. The addition of 3 green eyelets to balance the card and the card is complete.

Quick Triangle Box tutorial

These boxes are so popular at the moment, and I can totally see why – they are so ridiculously simple and easy to make! You don’t even need a template to cut around, just a rectangle of your favourite patterned cardstock and a few score lines as shown below:
Dead easy! I've used papers from MyGrafico - (Tyka Patterns & Chocolate Mint Papers) they also have a great selection of Halloween and Christmas papers, making this project a great way to wrap a simple gift like sweeties or even something more personal, like jewellery. Digi papers are great because you can print them out on exactly the right weight cardstock/paper for the project you're doing. This was perfect for this box as the rigidity is necessary to protect the gift. Most patterned paper just wouldn’t cut the mustard for this ;0)

You could also be more adventurous and cut out a window and cover with acetate on the inside before assembling. This would give a great ‘peep-hole’ if you were filling with sweets. You could also print on both sides of the cardstock if you were doing this, so that the colour would show through the window.
The tutorial video is below. If you enjoyed this tutorial, I’d love if you could leave a comment or a link to a project that this has inspired you to make – it would be great to see what you’ve made! Please hop over to my YT channel to rate & subscribe. Thanks for watching! ;0)

Get Well Soon

For this card, I wanted something bright and cheerful, so the recipient would feel, well, brighter and cheered by it! I had thought of doing something with a cartoon/stamp of someone with a leg in plaster, but I couldn't find anything suitable, and I decided on this design. Because I was also strapped for time, I also used this design to make a similar Happy Birthday card for a friend, but this time I used a DL size card for a long and thin version. The photo did not come out so well, so I have not included it here, but it's just a long and thing version of this card with a different sentiment!!

I created this card using a stamp I made from a Cuttlebug die cut and funky foam - an idea I saw on Mel's blog and clear embossed the stamps on pink paper. Then I used cranberry ink and sponged over the flowers to make them 'pop'. I really love this effect...it makes a very boring piece of pink copy paper look like expensive background paper - bonus!

I then printed the sentiment on blue paper and sponged the edges in a dark blue ink to give a bit more vah-vah-voom. My paper collection is quite depressing, mainly due to my budget, so I have to spice it up in any way I can...

The rest was made with creative use of my nestibilities and lots of patience, but eventually I came up with something that I was happy with as the final design. I don't usually use window cards, but decided to have a go with this one, and quite like the effect.

Happy Anniversary to my Folks!

My folks are an inspiration. They've been married for 35 years and still going strong. That is remarkable in this day and age, and gives me something to aspire to with my husband to be when we finally tie the knot next Friday!

I wanted this to be quite a modern card, but still traditional enough not to make light of the fact that they've been happily married for so long. So I've kept it fresh and simple, but used a very extravagant 'Happy Anniversary' script to posh it up.

The silver heart was hand-drawn and made with silver embossed clear shrink plastic. Note to self - emboss the shape AFTER shrinking, otherwise you end up with an ungodly mess of white hot dripping embossing liquid, which does hurt if it gets on your skin - I have the burn to prove it :-) oops!

The Happy Anniversary was traced onto the card, then black embossed using my glue pen for the powder to stick to. I wish I had such an ornate stamp, but I'm really poor at the moment, what with my naff job and my wedding next week, so I'm improvising!!!

The hole in the card feature was made with nestabilities dies. I did the same on the inside to hide the wire fixing to hold the heart in place.

Thanks!

Well it was my birthday on Saturday and I received some lovely presents, most of which were for my card making addiction, so I thought I'd use some of my new toys to make these thank-you cards for the people who bought me such great gifts!

I've been waiting for a Cuttlebug for AGES - indeed my O/H bought me it last month, so it's been sitting in the house waiting for me to use it ever since, but I wasn't allowed until my birthday. Anywho, I was up really early on the day to play with my new toy, and this is what I came up with.

I don't think this card needs explaining - it's practically all Cuttlebug based (of course!) apart from a retro stamp I used to liven up the background here and there...